


Interlude: Pragma

by PunkRyuki



Series: A Study In Love [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Dreams, M/M, Poor Draco
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 19:03:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10883040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PunkRyuki/pseuds/PunkRyuki
Summary: An Interlude between Eros and Agape:Draco has a very interesting, if frustrating dream.





	Interlude: Pragma

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone. I'm so sorry with how long Agape is taking. It's much more heavy than the previous two installments, and I keep getting lost in my own writing and distracted by other projects. Trust me, I am still working on it. I'm about halfway done at this point. (I know, this is taking so long.)
> 
> So, to help tide you over until I can finally get this thing done, here is a little piece that takes place between Eros and the final installment: Agape. I used this as a warm-up exercise whenever I had bad writer's block, and ended up liking it enough to make it an actual part of my story. 
> 
> And it comes with a little soundtrack! These are songs I listened to while writing, and I think it goes well with this piece. (Joe Hisaishi is my absolute favorite composer.)  
>   
> Impossible Dream - Joe Hisaishi : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpXSv9EXCjc  
> Fragile Dream - Joe Hisaishi : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zL7c5Z0HDA  
> And the song at the end is Witchcraft - Frank Sinatra : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12kku-8_6_4

The world was an endless expanse of blue and fluffy white clouds, with only the thin line of the horizon to differ from the sky and the ground, not that either of them looked any different. The sense of vertigo Draco felt left his head spinning, and he had to kneel down and touch the ground to get his bearings. It looked as if he were floating in the sky with no ground in sight, but when his fingers touched the surface that he stood on, the image rippled and his fingers came away wet. In fact, now that the reflection was distorted, he could see that what he actually stood upon was a smooth plane of gritty stone, shimmering white, and cracked in hexagonal shapes, as if he were standing in a desert and not in about two inches of water.

"Where are we?"

Draco looked up to see Harry just the way he had last seen him: hair wildly tousled, cheeks flushed, and lips kiss-bruised. Unfortunately (or fortunately), he still wore his school robes, even if they could do with a good Ironing Charm. He looked like he'd just been shagged, and it broke Draco's heart.

"Draco, are you going to answer me or what?" Harry waved his hand in front of his face.

Draco blinked out of his stupor, standing up and looking around briefly. Like a Remembrall, the answer came to him with all the clarity of a misty cloud. "We're in the Salar de Tunupa. It's one of the Seven Wizarding Wonders."

Harry smiled at him in that same way he did during D.A. meetings when Neville would cast a spell correctly. "It's the largest Divination mirror in the world, and it's been around since before any written record or memory."

"If you knew, then why did you ask me?"

Harry shrugged, idly kicking up some water with his bare foot. Where were his shoes? Some of the spray landed on Draco's lip and he caught it with his tongue. Ugh, so salty. "I know because you know, and I asked because you didn't."

"You're starting to sound like Looney Lovegood."

"Don't be rude." Still, Harry smiled at him as if they shared a joke. It left his heart fluttering. Harry's gaze was like a physical weight on his skin, and he couldn't get enough of it. "Why do you think we're here, of all places? Have you been here before?"

Draco shook his head. "It's in Bolivia. I've never been to the Americas."

"Hm. Maybe it's from me, then."

"Wait, you've been here before?"

"No, I haven't, but He has." Before Draco could ask him to clarify, Harry continued. "Legend has it that it's a portal to another realm. Some say it belongs to the Seelie, some say the spirit world. They say that on certain nights, the barrier between the two worlds is so thin, that you can slip between the two. My money's on Halloween."

"If that were true, don't you think we'd have a lot more people come back from the dead?"

"Who's to say they haven't? Perhaps that's how the first ghost came to be."

"Ghosts are imprints, Harry. They aren't the actual souls of the departed."

He shrugged again. When had he become so laid-back? "Or maybe it's a one-way ticket, like the Veil. Maybe it's how we're able to see each other."

"You're not making a whole lot of sense."

"I know," Harry smiled apologetically, and then stepped forward, his mirror image rippling in his wake, and he grabbed Draco's hand tentatively. "I am glad to see you though, even if it's only through dreams."

It was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on his head. "This...is a dream, isn't it?" He looked around at the endless salt flats around them. "None of this is real. It's all inside my head."

"Well, of course it's all inside your head, you dummy. Why should that mean that none of it is real?" His warm hand certainly felt real, and honestly, Draco was so thirsty for Harry, that he would take even these misty illusions.

This was all a dream. Harry wasn't with him. He was still in the hands of a madman, in the hands of men like his father. He pulled Harry into a hug, gasping at the feel of his body against his. How many days had it been since he had held him like this? Would he ever get to do it again?

"Hey, now. Come on, Draco, don't cry." A comforting hand patted his back affectionately, and the other stroked his hair in a way that made his heart quiver.

"Shut up, Potter. I'm not crying."

He laughed. "Oh, forgive me. I didn't realize it was raining on only your face."

"I could hex you, you know," but he still kept the boy trapped in his arms.

"I could take you on in my sleep." He laughed at his own little joke, but Draco found it in poor taste. Eventually, he unlatched himself from him just so he could pull back enough to look at his face. The just-shagged look had faded, leaving behind pale skin and dark bags under his eyes. Frankly, he looked like shite.

"Harry, where are you? Tell me where you are and I'll come save you."

"I-I don't know. I think I've been asleep this whole time. It's hard to tell." His brows knitted together in concentration. "Sometimes...sometimes I think I can hear the ocean and...singing, but it's difficult to figure out what's real and what's just going to hurt me." He looked up directly into Draco's eyes, and not for the last time he was stunned by how amazingly green they were. "You haven't hurt me yet, so I'll take what I can get."

"I would never hurt you, Harry. I swear."

He hadn't meant to make Harry laugh, and it stung a bit. "If only you're Third Year self could hear you now. Oh, how the mighty Draco Malfoy has fallen." Then he bit his lip, and meekly touched Draco's cheek with his fingers, and Draco drank in the feeling desperately. "Sorry. I know you'll save me, Draco. I think you might be the only one who can."

Suddenly, Draco felt a coldness crawling up his leg, and when he looked down, he found that the two inches of water was increasing at a drastic rate. He flicked around in a panic, looking for some form of higher ground or something, but the world was flat, and Harry stood there with a mournful face, staring at the water rising up between them. "No one can save me... No one..."

He turned around, to shake him out of whatever stupor held him, but the water swallowed up his words and rose ever higher, until he could no longer see the clouds in the murky green depths. Then kelp began to sprout out of the ground in stalks as tall as trees. Afraid he would lose Harry, he tried to rush forward to grab onto his arm, but the water slowed him down. Something moved through the kelp to his left at startling speed, leaving behind a melodic giggle and a trail of bubbles. Then again, to his left, leaving Draco turning about in the water, always too slow.

And then, with a flash of mossy green fins, two mermaids swam past him towards Harry. He let out a muffled scream that turned into bubbles, partially blocking his view. By the time they had dissipated, the two mermaids were grinning at him maliciously, and two manacles had been clapped around Harry's ankles attached to chains that suddenly tugged him down. Draco swam after him, suddenly finding his feet turned into fleshy flippers and his hands were webbed.

He followed Harry into a dark crevasse in the ground where no light dared tread. Still, he pushed his limbs to move even faster, afraid he would lose sight of Harry in the darkness. He swam and swam and swam, but the darkness pressed even further in until all he could see were his webbed hands in front of him. No, no, no, he lost him. He lost Harry, again.

Then he heard sobbing, and for a moment he thought maybe it was his own, but then he realized that the noise came from somewhere further down. He followed the sound, wondering where Harry had gone.

"Mummy..." Merlin, it sounded like a toddler. "Mummy, I'm scared."

Then he heard a woman's whisper, as if from all around him. "Harry...you are so loved. Momma loves you. Dadda loves you."

"What use is the love of the dead," spat a much older, more vicious voice. He turned to find Harry, curled up in a ball, chains clinking loudly beneath him, still attached to his ankles. He was just barely illuminated, but Draco could still make out his raven locks swaying in the water.

"Harry," the whisper continued. "Be safe. Be strong."

"I...I don't know how. You weren't strong enough to save me, so how can I?"

"Harry!" Draco swam forward, and finally, finally touched his shoulders.

Harry's head flicked up, his red-rimmed eyes wide in surprise. "Draco? You...You found me?"

"I promised I would save you."

"Yes, but how could you? It's so dark... Wait, I can see you." He uncurled himself, latching onto Draco's hand --no longer webbed-- and held it in front of his face. Sure enough, Draco could see it with perfect clarity, and when his hand drew nearer to Harry's face, he could see him better too.

They realized it at the same time. "Draco, you're glowing. The light is coming from you."

With this new epiphany, little pinpricks of light began to pop into existence all around them, some brighter than others, both above and below them, along with a cloudy material that you'd find in space. Draco pivoted to get a good look around them, and the lights beneath him rippled. They were back at the Salar, he realized, only this time, they stood underneath a starry night sky. He had never seen this many stars before in his life.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Harry stood beside him with a peaceful smile, holding onto his hand in that same way they did when they were skating. "I'm sorry about before. There's just so much anger and pain, and not all of it is mine. I get lost in it sometimes."

Draco looked down at his ankles to still find them cuffed with the chains travelling down endlessly beneath them until Draco couldn't see any more.

Harry followed his gaze with a bitter smile. "Yeah, I don't know if I'll ever be free of those."

"I'm serious, Harry. I will save you."

Now his smile felt more genuine, and some of Draco's anxiety was expelled, like a Dementor from a Patronus Charm. "I know you will. You already have." He turned his smile up to the sky, the stars reflecting off of his spectacles so that they looked more like glittering diamonds than glass. "Hey, Draco, what do you think happens to us when we die?"

The question didn't sound heavy, so Draco shrugged his shoulders easily. "I dunno. I assumed some form of an afterlife. Mum had told me once that according to ancient wizards and witches, they believed you turned back into the magic from whence you came."

"Hmm. That's a nice thought. Maybe that's what happened to my mother." Harry looked down at his hands as if seeing them for the first time. Then he looked over at him. "What kind of magic do you think I would turn into?"

Draco thought it over. "Music."

That startled a chuckle out of the other. "I think I would like that. And what would you be?"

"What goes together with Music better than Dancing?"

Harry gave him a sappy look, grinning from ear to ear. "Is Dancing magic?"

"I've heard of certain rituals that require dancing."

He quirked an eyebrow. "The same ones that require virgin blood?"

"Oh yes."

Harry laughed, and it was joined by the muffled sound of brass instruments. He stopped, looking around for the source of the noise, but only the stars twinkled back. "What's that?"

Draco tilted his head as if to hear better. The music sounded as if it were behind a wall. If he concentrated he could just make out the words of a smooth tenor voice. _"...would common... for... do?"_

Harry tapped his toes to the rhythm, creating tiny splashing noises that distracted Draco from listening. "It's very swing-y. It sounds like something Remus would listen to."

_"...It's witchcraft, wicked witchcraft..."_

Draco squinted his eyes as if that would make the music clearer. "It does sound familiar..." Something about the song nagged at him.

"Come on then," Harry tugged the hand that was still attached to Draco's, causing him to stumble into him clumsily. "Show me the magic of Dancing."

_"And although I know it's strictly taboo."_

Distractedly, he let Harry maneuver him into position, but something about the song tugged at his mind, irritating him to the point he just couldn't seem to enjoy dancing with Harry, something he thought impossible. He knew this song, he just knew it, and he also knew that it pissed him off, which made no sense, since Harry seemed to thoroughly be enjoying it.

_"When you arouse the need in me,_  
_my heart says yes indeed in me."_

"Draco, come on, focus." Harry was pouting at him, forcefully moving Draco's arm into a rather poor dance to be honest. He didn't mean to be such a poor dancing partner, but his mind seemed stuck. "I don't think you'll become Dancing at this rate."

"Sorry, Harry, I--"

 _"Proceed with what you're leading me--me--me--"_ The words repeated as if the needle of the gramophone had skipped out of the groove.

"That's it! It's Sirius," Draco shouted with realization, so happy to finally figure out what irked him about this song. "He's locked himself in his room and been listening to this damn song on repeat ever since we returned to Grimmauld Place."

Harry stopped trying to dance, looking forlorn. "Oh. That probably means you're waking up then."

Fear seized his throat, just as he grabbed Harry by the arms, wide-eyed and probably mad looking. "No, no, I still need more time."

Suddenly, the peaceful and relaxed pace from before sped up, wracking Draco's anxiety up tenfold. Harry also looked a smidge frantic, holding onto Draco just as tightly. "I don't know how I did it this time, but I'll try to find your dreams again. If this isn't just my dream anyway."

"You have to be strong, Harry. You have to fight him. Please, you have to stay alive until I can find you." He knew he was probably hurting the other boy from how tightly he grasped him. "Don't give in, Harry. Please."

"I won't, I won't. I know you'll find me. I love--"

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
Draco woke up instantly, glaring up at the dusty gray ceiling of his bedroom with hot tears in his eyes. He remembered everything with such clarity... That had to have been real. Harry was alive out there, waiting for Draco to save him.

_"It's such an ancient pitch,_  
_but one I wouldn't switch,_  
_'cause there's no--"_

With a snarl, he threw the nearest object, an unlucky table lamp, at the wall that connected his and Sirius' rooms. It shattered pleasingly, and with a relief, he heard the scratch of a needle, and the music stopped.

**Author's Note:**

> The Salar de Tunupa (Salar de Uyuni) is a real place. It's the largest mirror in the world. I recommend you google some pictures, because it is astoundingly beautiful. Definitely feels like a magical place.
> 
>  
> 
> Comments are appreciated, and always give me more bursts of inspiration! (ง •̀ω•́)ง ♪


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